9.5 miles | +800'
The Little Picacho Wilderness occupies a small corner of Imperial County, just few few hours east of the San Diego County line. I've always considered it a hikers paradise, with countless washes, canyons, ridges, wind caves, and peaks to explore. One summit in particular, Little Picacho Peak, caught my interest years ago, so on this trip I wanted to tackle it with my brother-in-law. After a long track through a narrow slot canyon, we took a somewhat spiral route up towards the summit along a very narrow trail clinging precariously to the steep sides, but stopped just short of it. The last ascent would involve negotiating a near vertical crag up the sheer rock face. I found another route that seemed less sketchy but we were running short on time and decided to save it for another day.
"The Little Picacho Wilderness, located in southeast Imperial County 55 miles from El Centro and designated Wilderness in 1994 with a total of 38,214 acres. This area is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
The Little Picacho Wilderness occupying the southern portion of the Chocolate Mountains is characterized by spectacular, steep, rocky outcrops and striking, jagged ridges with elevations ranging from 200 to 1,500 ft. In the northern portion, amid numerous ravines, Little Picacho Peak soars to an elevation of 1,193 ft. gradually descending to sandy, tree-lined washes.
Colored angular cobbles known as desert pavement can be seen on the arid, vegetation bare slopes and plains in this area. Desert bighorn sheep, the Picacho Wild horses and wild burros can be seen roaming a 5,000 acre range in the northwestern corner. To the east the wilderness is bounded by the Colorado River which supports an adjacent diverse riparian habitat."
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